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Illinois
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February 26, 2024
Chicago Can't Count Any Votes In Transfer Tax Referendum
The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners may not count any votes that are cast in the real estate transfer tax referendum in the March 19 primary election, a judge for the Circuit Court of Cook County said in an order Monday.
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February 26, 2024
Texas Justices Say $220M Cobalt Deal Is A Loss Under Policy
A $220 million settlement that now-bankrupt Cobalt International Energy Inc. reached with a group of investors constitutes a loss under the energy company's insurance policies, but the agreement is not binding on Cobalt's insurers to establish coverage, the Texas Supreme Court ruled.
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February 26, 2024
Energizer Zaps Most Portable-Charger False Ad Claims
An Illinois federal judge has trimmed the bulk of a proposed class action alleging Energizer Brands misled customers as to the number of times its power banks can charge smartphones, saying further testing is needed to substantiate allegations the chargers don't perform as advertised.
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February 26, 2024
Chicago Cubs Say Private Jet Co. 'Ghosted' Sponsorship
The Chicago Cubs have hit AeroVanti Aviation with a lawsuit in Illinois state court claiming the private jet membership company failed to pay up for a sponsorship agreement and then left the team holding the bag for a promised sweepstakes that eventually forced the Cubs to pay out a $3 million settlement.
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February 26, 2024
Blackwells Calls Out Disney For 'AI Mediocrity' In Proxy Battle
Blackwells Capital ramped up its activist investor campaign against The Walt Disney Co. on Monday, laying out a "strategic plan" that includes calls for the storied entertainment company to rise above its current "technological shortcomings," including its "AI mediocrity."
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February 26, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Delaware's Court of Chancery dropped two potentially far-reaching decisions last week: one about founder control at Moelis & Co. and another about TripAdvisor's planned move to Nevada. On top of that, there were new cases involving Citrix Systems, Alcoa Corp., BGC Partners Inc. and Cantor Fitzgerald LP.
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February 26, 2024
Insurance Co. Beats Claims Analysts' OT Exemption Suit
A life insurance company prevailed against disability claim analysts alleging they were wrongfully denied overtime pay, as an Illinois federal judge tossed their suit because the workers are administrative employees exempt from overtime requirements.
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February 26, 2024
Teamsters Tell 7th Circ. Sysco Must Arbitrate Benefits Dispute
A Sysco distribution center in Indianapolis must arbitrate its dispute with a Teamsters local over workers' entitlement to early retirement benefits, the union told the Seventh Circuit, arguing the applicable collective bargaining agreement includes a broad arbitration clause.
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February 26, 2024
Sheppard Mullin Adds 2nd Healthcare Partner This Month
Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP has continued its recent growth of the firm's Chicago office and its healthcare team with the addition of a second partner within the last month.
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February 26, 2024
FTC Challenges Kroger's $25B Albertsons Buy
The Federal Trade Commission announced a new, national front Monday against Kroger's heavily criticized $24.6 billion purchase of fellow grocery store giant Albertsons, challenging a deal it said threatens both shoppers and workers and cannot be saved by the planned divestiture of a "hodgepodge" of hundreds of stores.
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February 23, 2024
Vanderbilt, 3 Other Elite Schools Ink $166M Aid-Fixing Deals
Vanderbilt University, Northwestern University, Dartmouth College and Rice University on Friday reached settlements totaling $166 million to resolve proposed antitrust class claims alleging that they and 13 other universities conspired to limit student aid.
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February 23, 2024
Meta Unlikely To Beat Most Of BIPA Suit Over Voiceprints
A California federal judge on Friday said she's inclined to deny the bulk of Meta Platforms Inc.'s request to dismiss a proposed biometric privacy class action claiming the social media company collects and stores customer voiceprints through its Facebook and Messenger platforms in violation of Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act.
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February 23, 2024
The New BIPA? Attys Warn GIPA Is A 'Live Grenade'
After notable appellate victories in biometric privacy cases, Illinois plaintiffs have seized upon a previously little-used law protecting workers' genetic privacy, leaving defense attorneys wondering if history will repeat itself and open companies to potentially explosive liability.
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February 23, 2024
Restaurants Blast 'Fatal Flaws' In Chicken Price-Fix Deal
Boston Market and other restaurants objecting to Simmons Foods' $8 million chicken price-fixing settlement with direct purchasers say the Seventh Circuit should unwind the deal because it improperly releases bid-rigging claims for no consideration and turns the massive two-track case on its head.
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February 23, 2024
Homebuyers' NAR Antitrust Claims Still Fail, Ill. Judge Says
An Illinois federal judge has again axed federal antitrust claims brought by a proposed class of homebuyers challenging the National Association of Realtors' commission rules, while allowing some of the new state law claims to move forward.
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February 23, 2024
Walgreens Investors Near Deal In Suit Over Opioid Epidemic
An Illinois federal judge agreed Friday to maintain a stay in a stockholder derivative suit accusing Walgreens and its leadership of failing to limit retail pharmacies from dispensing unreasonable amounts of opioids, a day after the parties announced an agreement in principle to resolve their dispute.
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February 23, 2024
Dickinson Wright Pulls In IP Atty From Steptoe
Dickinson Wright PLLC continues to expand its intellectual property team, adding a new member to its Chicago office from Steptoe LLP.
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February 23, 2024
Judge Nixes Walmart 'Raw Honey' False Ad Class Action
A Chicago federal judge granted dismissal of a proposed class action against Walmart alleging its "raw honey" and "organic raw honey" were falsely branded, saying there were no allegations about what the lead plaintiff believed when he bought the products, or what a reasonable consumer would believe.
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February 23, 2024
Insurance M&A Partner From Sidley Joins Kirkland
Kirkland & Ellis LLP has added a corporate partner in its insurance transactions and regulatory and financial institutions practice groups, bringing on a former Sidley Austin LLP attorney who said he "couldn't be more excited" to join the firm's Chicago office.
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February 23, 2024
Ex-Major Lindsey Worker Fights Arbitration In Sex Assault Suit
The trustee for a former Major Lindsey & Africa employee pursuing a negligence suit in New York state court against the firm tied to a reported sexual assault has filed an opposition to the legal recruiting giant's motion to compel arbitration, arguing that it disregarded "the seismic shift in the law against forced arbitration."
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February 22, 2024
CVS Says Redbox Won't Remove Kiosks Despite Expired Deal
Pharmacy chain CVS filed a lawsuit against Redbox in Illinois state court Wednesday alleging the DVD rental company has refused to remove its kiosks from 10 CVS stores across the country after their deal expired, and is seeking over $424,000 in unpaid commissions and the removal of the kiosks.
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February 22, 2024
YouTube Privacy Judge 'Flummoxed' By Kids' Liability Theory
A California federal judge indicated Thursday that she's open to trimming a revived proposed class action alleging Google and companies that host child-friendly YouTube channels illegally collected children's data from targeted ads, expressing concerns about the requested relief and saying she's "flummoxed" by the consumers' belated liability theory against the channels' owners.
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February 22, 2024
R. Kelly Fights Chicago Child Porn Conviction At 7th Circ.
R. Kelly's bid to unwind his conviction and 20-year sentence on child pornography and inducement charges received skepticism Thursday from one Seventh Circuit judge, who at one point warned the artist could be "worse off" by winning his appeal.
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February 22, 2024
Instant Brands Ch. 11 Plan Gets OK After Win In Supplier Row
A Texas bankruptcy judge on Thursday gave tentative approval to home-appliance maker Instant Brands' reorganization plan after finding that recent briefings from the company and a supplier supported his preliminary decision last week to preserve the debtor's indemnification rights.
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February 22, 2024
Convicted Chicago Pol Seeks Acquittal Or New Trial
One of Chicago's longest serving and most powerful local politicians asked an Illinois federal judge Wednesday to set aside a jury's December verdict convicting him of using his official position to steer tax business to his personal law firm, saying no rational jury could have convicted him based on the evidence presented at trial.
Expert Analysis
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Why 7th Circ.'s BIPA Insurance Analysis Is Significant
The Seventh Circuit's ruling in Citizens v. Wynndalco is the first appellate opinion on one of the three major exclusions raised by insurers faced with a duty to defend alleged violations of the Biometric Information Privacy Act and could foreshadow future BIPA opinions favoring policyholders, say John Vishneski and Adrienne Kitchen at Reed Smith.
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How Spending Clause Ruling May Affect Medicaid Litigation
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Health and Hospital Corp. v. Talevski preserves an important avenue for health providers and beneficiaries to use the Civil Rights Act to sue state Medicaid agencies in a landscape that has steadily narrowed potential paths for challenging state violations of spending clause legislation, say attorneys at Hooper Lundy.
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Opinion
States Must Fight Predatory Real Estate Listing Agreements
As momentum against long-term real estate listing agreements continues to grow, states should take action to render existing agreements unenforceable and discourage future unfair and deceptive trade practices in real estate, says Elizabeth Blosser at the American Land Title Association.
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Steps To Success For Senior Associates
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Adriana Paris at Rissman Barrett discusses the increased responsibilities and opportunities that becoming a senior associate brings and what attorneys in this role should prioritize to flourish in this stressful but rewarding next level in their careers.
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How To Avoid A Zombie Office Building Apocalypse
With national office vacancy rates approaching 20%, policymakers, investors and developers will need to come together in order to prevent this troubling trend from sucking the life out of business districts or contaminating the broader real estate market, say Ryan Sommers and Robyn Minter Smyers at Thompson Hine.
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Legal Profession Must Do More For Lawyers With Disabilities
At the start of Disability Pride month, Rosalyn Richter at Arnold & Porter looks at why lawyers with disabilities are significantly underrepresented in private practice, asserting that law firms and other employers must do more to conquer the implicit bias that deters attorneys from seeking accommodations.
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Opinion
Appellate Funding Disclosure: No Mandate Is Right Choice
The Advisory Committee on Appellate Rules' recent decision, forgoing a mandatory disclosure rule for litigation funding in federal appeals, is prudent, as third-party funding is only involved in a minuscule number of federal cases, and courts have ample authority to obtain funding information if necessary, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.
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Case Law Is Mixed On D&O Coverage For Gov't Investigations
As the Fourth Circuit’s recent decision in Brown Goldstein v. Federal Insurance Co. demonstrates, federal appeals courts take different approaches to determine whether government investigations are covered by directors and officers liability insurance, so companies and individuals must review their policy language, say Chloe Law, Jan Larson and Caroline Meneau at Jenner & Block.
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SuperValu's Lesson: Always Be Building An FCA Defense
The recent U.S. v. SuperValu decision confirming that scienter is an essential element of False Claims Act liability should motivate government contractors to prepare for allegations of material misrepresentation by building a record of their honorable efforts toward regulatory compliance, say David Resnicoff and Andrew Patton at Riley Safer.
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Next Steps For Ill. Tort Defendants After Cotton V. Coccaro
While an Illinois appeals court's ruling in Cotton v. Coccaro recently upheld the constitutionality of the state's law imposing prejudgment interest in personal injury and wrongful death actions, defendants can still raise constitutional challenges to the law pending Illinois Supreme Court review, says Melissa Murphy-Petros at Wilson Elser.
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NBA Players Must Avoid Legal Fouls In CBD Deals
The NBA’s recently ratified collective bargaining agreement allows athletes to promote CBD brands and products, but athletes and the companies they promote must be cautious of a complex patchwork of applicable state laws and federal regulators’ approach to advertising claims, says Airina Rodrigues at Brownstein Hyatt.
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How Attys Can Avoid Exposing Their Firms To Cyberattacks
Attorneys are the weakest link in their firms' cyberdefenses because hackers often exploit the gap between individuals’ work and personal cybersecurity habits, but there are some steps lawyers can take to reduce the risks they create for their employers, say Mark Hurley and Carmine Cicalese at Digital Privacy & Protection.
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Virginia 'Rocket Docket' Slowdown Is Likely A Blip
After being the fastest or second-fastest federal civil trial court for 14 straight years, the Eastern District of Virginia has slid to 18th place, but the rocket docket’s statistical tumble doesn't mean the district no longer maintains a speedy civil docket, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
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Concerns Emerging On TM Cases Against Undisclosed Parties
There has been a dramatic increase in the number of cases filed by brands against hundreds of counterfeiters as undisclosed defendants, and given these suits' debatable success in curbing counterfeiting, courts and Congress could view them as a drain on judicial resources, say Bea Swedlow and David Roulo at Honigman.
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Now Is The Time For State And Local Sales Tax Simplification
In the five years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, state and local governments increasingly rely on sales tax, but simple changes are needed to make compliance more manageable for taxpayers, wherever located, without unduly burdening interstate commerce, says Charles Maniace at Sovos.